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Orange County Emerges as Major Fashion Capital with OC Fashion Week Making Waves on the California Riviera

Posted on March 14, 2014

As an immensely popular and affluent locale, Orange County and its sunny climate has proven itself to be a treasured market especially for resort and swim wear designers who In a juxtaposition of seasons, this prominent Fall/Winter 2014-5 fashion forecasting event baulked tradition, where designers typically feature winter wear, and gave new life and fresh appeal to resort wear applicable to Orange County’s savvy consumers who demand fashion tailored to their lifestyle. (Photo: Model Vanessa Gol

With the buying power of $37 billion, Orange County’s luxury market attracts internationally renowned designers for the premiere of newly restyled Orange County Fashion Week (OCFW), featuring prominent designers Antonella Commatteo, Anthony Ferraro (men’s intimates), Coral Castillo, Nasrin Ansari Couture, Dan Richters among many other notables. As an immensely popular and affluent locale, Orange County and its sunny climate has proven itself to be a treasured market especially for resort and swim wear designers who reap the benefits of a destination that sells summer wear year round.

In a juxtaposition of seasons, this prominent Fall/Winter 2014-5 fashion forecasting event baulked tradition, where designers typically feature winter wear, and gave new life and fresh appeal to resort wear applicable to Orange County’s savvy consumers who demand fashion tailored to their lifestyle.

The 5 day fashion affair invited 19 designers with 4 pop-up shop designers (BB Designs jewelry, The Left Shoe Company, David August Inc. and La Weez Jewelry) hosting shows in 5 premier OC locations, including new venues, 7 Degrees and Lyon Air Museum. Restyled as a full week long event with an innovation reorganization and structure, OCFW strategically paired fashion designers with complementary venues tailored to their target demographic once more but in addition added two new venues to its itinerary. (Model in Collections by Indie Soul from Miami)

Opening event, “Sugar Rush” put resort wear and accessories on display at Seven Degrees in Laguna Beach, while menswear designer Hautech created all-new buzz at Lyon Air Museum, “House of Style” designers returned to the iconic glass catwalk at ANQi by Crustacean, while couture designers were well-match within the elegant ambiance of Dawson Cole Fine Art Gallery’s Sculpture Garden a return venue from last year.

“Orange County independently makes up the fashion retail consumer power at some $37 billion in retail sales. This incredible buying power exceeds that of some fashion capitals. In addition, we live among a great number of buyers who travel to NYC, London, Paris and Milan for fashion week then come back here to live. Orange County is undisputedly a buyer’s market, and it shows in the U.S. census data,” says owner of OCFW and founder of OC Fashion Council, Kathryn Marino.

“Sugar Rush the Sweet Splendor of Style,” debuted resort and swim wear designers showcasing ready to wear collections, accessories, jewelry, men’s intimates and bikinis. The day’s events culminated with the Fashionably Responsible Awards, a celebration recognizing local designers that give back to philanthropic causes, including supermodel Coca Rocha’s jewelry line for Senhoa.org, which fights against human trafficking in Cambodia and Liberate Apparel, which empowers women and children in the Dominican Republic through the sales of their retail line.

“What differentiates Orange County Fashion Week from all others is that we truly capture the spirit of giving and philanthropy that is a cornerstone for what Orange County stands for” says Co-Chair Manna Kadar CEO of Manna Kadar Cosmetics who resides in Orange County where she is headquartered.” Her motto to “Think. Do. Be. Beautiful.” could not be more appropriately suited for this endeavor as the Fashionably Responsible Awards recognize “Inner Beauty Awareness.”

Also part of “Sugar Rush,” fashion industry insiders shared trends and trade secrets during its live Fashion Forum which included notables; Neel Grover, CEO of BlueFly.com, HGTV’s Bravo Kelli Ellis, Super Model Sarah DeAnna, Lash Fary of Distinctive Assets, and Frances Harder of Fashion Business Inc. Members of the forum discussed how to launch your personal fashion brand, hosted by Stiletto Gal Hillary Gadsby of Gadsby Media Group.

Day 2: Hautech Menswear & the Digital Age of Fashion Technology, Lyon Air Museum

Lyon Air Museum and its 1940 aircrafts created the perfect backdrop for fashion collections from designers Pal Zileri, Valor Collective and Rip Curl’s latest Designer Collections. (Photo: America’s Next Top Model Mike Scocozzo makes debut in Pal Zileri at Lyon Air Museum.)

“Orange County Fashion Week brought attention and brand awareness of our clothing line to a key market and demographic group,” says Carolina Delgado GM Caesars Palace, Las Vegas location. “This was an incredibly valuable experience and we are thrilled to have been a part of it.”

“A vintage aircraft, positioned at the top of the runway, which we felt was a great contrast to the historical past, with the emerging future of men’s fashions, as models sauntered from underneath each wing toward a captivated audience,” says Tracy Pham, OC Fashion Week’s all-new Runway Director.

Day 3: Prowl – Career Recruitment Fair for Retailers, Chapman University

Dedicated to future fashion leaders, Prowl was a student-based fashion event, career expo, recruitment day and runway showcase, held at Chapman University. College students engaged with career expo retailers from Michael Kors Recruitment to Toni & Guy Hairdressing Academy, and had the opportunity to present their fashion talents in a runway show of their own creation.

Day 4: House of Style (Avant-Garde), AnQi by Crustacean

Avant-garde event, “House of Style,” was held at the 5-Star Award Winning Restaurant AnQi by Crustacean, known for its glass catwalk. Orange County based designer Cheri Wilson Chagollan of Wonderland Studios revealed a stunning collection of corsette gowns worn by the Orange County Ballet Theatre dancers as models, while Madem Black by Jessica Huerta stunned audiences with an incredible latex fashion collection.

Held from March 3rd – 8th 2014, the second annual Orange County Fashion Week was however, the premier event with Kathryn Marino at the helm, as the newest owner of OCFW. Tracy Pham also joined the show as Runway Director, with previous prestigious titles including, Founder of Runway Entertainment and Producer of Viet Fashion Week. The two producers and co-chairs, Manna Kadar Cosmetics, CEO Manna Kadar and Chadia Almeddin Betinnis of Betinnis by Brea, joined forces to build an all new production with innovative events each highlighting a venue targeted to a different demographic each day. Like any fashion retail store, there is a target audience. In this case, each designer was categorized by designer genre allowing designers to be exposed to a category of audiences that fit their target audience demographics, while allowing sponsors to be exposed to their preferred audience. Each day of Orange County Fashion Week was designed based on this criteria and highlighted by hot spot venues like Dawson Cole Fine Art Gallery, Lyon Air Museum, AnQi by Crustacean and Seven Degrees in Laguna Beach, fashionable landmarks that also fit the profile of this demographic market. www.orangecountyfashionweek.com